HSMAI2011 west how_tousesocialmediatodriveattendancetoyourevent

How to Use Social Media to Drive Attendance to Your Event and Engage with Your Audience 1

Do I Have Your Attention?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMeYdSYCC7A 2

About Marcel MediaMarcel Media is full service interactive marketing agency specializing inSearch Engine Marketing (SEM).We partner with organizations to provide creative and customizedmarketing solutions such as Social Media, Interactive FacebookApplications, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), ConversionOptimization, Website Development and Web Analytics. @marcelmedia Facebook.com/marcelmedia www.marcelmedia.com/blog 3

About Kelly CutlerKelly Cutler is the CEO of Marcel Media, anaward-winning, interactive marketing firmspecializing in search engine and socialmedia marketing.Beginning her career in 1997 with companiesincluding AOL and Classified Ventures, Kelly’sachievements include serving as the firstwoman president of the ChicagoEntrepreneurs’ Organization,and instructing at the University of Chicagoand DePaul University. Connect with KellyShe is a sought after subject matter expert,speaking on industry topics such as search Linkedin.com/in/kellycutlerengine optimization, web analytics and orsocial media marketing across the country. @kfcutler 4

Social Media: An Overview 5

Why Social Media Works Social Media tools are built for engagement.Benefits:  Build an online community around your event  Establish credibility in the industry  Attract attendees and speakers for the event  Help attendees connect with each other  Broadens Participation throughout the event  Encourages information sharing  Leverages the event for media cover on and offline  Supplement existing marketing efforts 6

Most Commonly Used Social Media Tools Source: Mashable 7

Getting Started: The Strategy 8

Is Your Brand Visible?I. Set up a Blog - Link all social media profiles to the blogII. Assign a check-in location on Foursquare and Facebook PlacesIII. Twitter – Create a hashtag and tweet out updates before, during & after eventIV. Facebook – Create an events page and Facebook fan pageV. LinkedIn – Send out personalized invites and create an event 9

Optimize Your Event for Sharing • Create a catchy hashtag for the event • Create a branded social networking web page or virtual whiteboard where attendees can connect before and after the event • Set up a live stream for those who cant travel to the event. Use Ustream, Justin.tv or Mogulus and stream portions of your event • Create a widget • Create a branded badge that other blogs can add to their site with a link to 10

Brooklyn Beta Case StudyTheir website was not even created at the time of theevent, and they still managed to sell out in 2 minutes.It is basically a sign up form. No speakers, no details. 11

Brooklyn Beta Case StudyThe History • Brooklyn Beta happened for the first time in 2010 • It was started by Chris Shifflet and a bunch of friends/colleagues with no real strategy in place • The event spread on Twitter among web designersTicket Sales • 175 registered attendees • Tickets were sold for $100 • They expanded the venue to include 200 more seats. The additional 200 sold in less than 2 minutes 12

Brooklyn Beta Case StudyWhat We Learned?• Events born online or within an existing community have stronger selling potential• Event attendees are shaping the offer of events and organizers should be ready to accommodate user generated initiatives• Word of mouth marketing is more powerful then any paid advertising 13

Event Marketing Tools 14

Facebook Create a Facebook Page Create a Facebook Event and provide incentives for guests and members who update their own status with links to the event Include an Events Tab on Your Facebook Page that has a registration link Include a “Like” button on your event’s website Facebook Places –Events can offer incentives for checking in like free drink coupons and sweepstakes 15

5 Great Applications for your Facebook Events Page1. Welcome Tab- Welcome Tab adds customization to a page by creating a custom landing page for your Facebook visitors2. EventBrite for Pages – Provides another platform for online registration3. Plancast – Great research tool for people to discover events4. Nutshell Email – Allows you to send an email to all your fans and followers on Facebook at once5. LiveStream – Allows you to stream your event on your Facebook page 16

5 Great Applications for your Facebook Events Page1. Welcome Tab • https://www.facebook.com/welcometab2. EventBrite for Facebook Pages • http://apps.facebook.com/eventbritetab3. Plancast • http://plancast.com/home/all/13489304. Nutshell Email • http://nutshellmail.com/facebook/pages/5. LiveStream • https://secure.livestream.com/myaccount/launchchannel 17

Twitter Ask for people to share your event with the simple phrase, “Please RT!” Give people an incentive to tweet out your hashtag; offer a free pass, door prize or other giveaway Create separate Twitter lists of event speakers, sponsors, attendees and local restaurants and attractions • Adding speakers to the list helps increase visibility of tweets Have a designated “tweeter” at each session or event that tweets in real- time about the event • Promote hashtag before, during and after event Create a unique hashtag for the event 18

LinkedInLinkedIn Events App – allows you to promote global events to TweetUpsSend an invitation to the people who would be interested in the event based on region or niche.Create a LinkedIn poll after the event to gather feedback quickly and distribute throughout all social profiles.The Slideshare.net app - allows you to showcase presentations and add a video that auto-plays when people land on your profile. 19

How to Create a Viral Video1. Unique Content - funny, shocking, clever, controversial, interesting, different, sexy, or quirky. Make people go “WOW”2. Make it short: 30 seconds is good. 2 minutes max3. Give it an attention-grabbing title4. Use the power of the thumbnail: YouTube gives you three options for thumbnails when uploading a video. Make sure that the thumbnail you choose is clear and intriguing5. YouTube allows you to tag videos: don’t tag generically; tag creatively and specifically 20

Where Video’s Go ViralFacebook Dominates: With more than 500 million people on theSocial network, Facebook dominates the sharing of social video.People share videos on Facebook 218 percent more than throughTwitter and e-mail combined. 76% 15% 9% 21

Live BloggingLive blogging during your event can create buzz and excitement for those whowere unable to attend and provide them a snippet of what they missed. KeepLive Blogs short, with all the highlights, quick intro and bullet points. Blogging Best Practices  Integrate multimedia  Copy editing (Yahoo! Style Guide)  Incorporate data and infographs  Create a catchy headline  Keep entries consistent; we recommend once a week  Optimization; keywords, link building, mobile friendly 22

Virtual Check-Ins Set up a branded venue (this will be included in event details) Include address, contact information and links to other social media profiles, as well as event details. Assign the event a category Add a Tip – Tips should be valuable to people and align with your brand (e.g. local bar or restaurant that is having a happy hour special) Offer incentives for checking into the event. All check-ins receive automatic entry into a sweepstakes (check-in and win an iPad) 23

Social Media Monitoring ToolsGoogle Alerts(free): You can use Google Alerts as a buzz monitoring tool.Social Mention (free): Allows you to set up email alerts and real time mentions ofyour brand on social mediaRadian 6 (enterprise level fees):This tool provides in-depth insight into real-timeconversation around your brand.Klout (free): Determines the level of influence your brand has in the social mediaMarketplace. 24

Promotional Tools Some organizers create their own social networks to build up hype and to keep connections even after the event has occurred by using Ning Add yourself to major event websites like EventBrite, Zvents, Plancast and Upcoming by Yahoo Twitter applications that promote networking: TweetChat, Tweetvite, and TweetMyEvents 25

What Social Media Looks Like in 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgp7GwHxV14 26

A Case Study: Is Facebook Worth More to Event Marketers then Twitter?A study performed by EventBrite, which used in-house social analyticstools to track online ticket sales showed that an average tweet about anevent drove $.80 in ticket sales. An average Facebook “like” drove $1.34in online sales.The study also revealed cumulative activity on Facebook was greater thanactivity on Twitter for Eventbrite. People shared Eventbrite events onFacebook almost four times as often as they did on Twitter.People are more likely to share events if they are attending. Theirfriends, according to Eventbrite’s data, are also more likely to buy ticketsto an event shared on Facebook by a ticket holder than one shared by anuncommitted friend. 27

SummarySocial Media has revolutionized events and you have a lot of resources at yourdisposal. Start out on a few of the main social networks, determine where yourtarget audience is most active, and use what works for you! 28

Thank You! Kelly Cutlerkelly@marcelmedia.comLinkedIn.com/kellycutler Twitter.com/kfcutler Questions? 29

HSMAI2011 west how_tousesocialmediatodriveattendancetoyourevent

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